Even in 1752, FB Rastrelli drew up several projects for rebuilding the existing Winter Palace during the time of Anna Ioannovna. These projects have clearly shown that the possibilities for expanding the old building are completely exhausted. In 1754, the final decision was made to build a new palace on the same site.
In terms of size and splendor of architectural decoration, it was supposed to surpass all previous imperial palaces in St. Petersburg, to become a symbol of the wealth and power of the Russian state. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, especially noted, when addressing the Senate through the architect FB Rastrelli: “The construction of that stone Winter Palace is a builder for the glory of the All-Russian Empire and, according to the circumstance, it follows the Governing Senate in all cases to consistently try to ensure that it is non-stop to the end ".
The new Winter Palace was conceived as a closed quadrangle with an extensive ceremonial courtyard. The northern facade of the palace was facing the Neva, the western - towards the Admiralty. In front of the southern façade, FB Rastrelli designed a large square, in the center of which he proposed to install an equestrian statue of Peter I, sculpted by the father of the architect Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli. A semicircular square was also planned in front of the eastern façade of the Winter Palace, on the side of the modern Small Hermitage. These plans were never implemented.
The construction of the grandiose building lasted 12 years. During this period, the imperial court moved to the temporary wooden Winter Palace, built on Nevsky Prospect. In the warm season, the Summer Palace served as the imperial residence of the capital.
On the eve of Easter 1762, the solemn consecration of the house church of the Winter Palace took place, marking the end of construction, although many rooms were still unfinished. Elizaveta Petrovna did not have a chance to live in the new palace - she died in December 1761. Emperor Peter III moved to the palace.
During the reign of Catherine II, some of the interiors of the Winter Palace were designed in accordance with new artistic tastes. Changes and additions were made in the 1st third of the 19th century. A devastating fire in 1837 destroyed the magnificent interior furnishings to ashes. Its restoration in 1838-1839 was carried out by architects V.P. Stasov and A.P. Bryullov.
The Winter Palace belongs to one of the most outstanding works of Russian baroque. The three-storey building is divided into two tiers by an entablature. The facades are decorated with columns of the Ionic and composite order; the columns of the upper tier unite the second (front) and third floors.
The complex rhythm of the columns, the richness and variety of forms of platbands (you can count two dozen types of them), abundant stucco moldings, many decorative vases and statues on parapets and pediments create a decorative decoration of the palace of extraordinary splendor and magnificence. The bright contrasting colors of the walls and architectural decorations enhance the overall pictorial impression. Its original range was somewhat different in comparison with the modern one - the palace was “painted on the outside: the walls were painted with sandy paint with the most subtle projection, and the ornaments with white lime”.
The southern facade of the palace is cut through by three entrance arches leading to the front yard. In the center of the northern building was the central entrance. Through the long lobby one could go to the front Jordan staircase, which occupied an entire risalit in the northeastern corner of the building. On the second floor, along the Nevsky façade from the staircase, there was a solemn enfilade, which ended in a grandiose Throne Hall. None of the currently existing halls of the Winter Palace can be compared with its size: FB Rastrelli, keeping the width of the Throne Hall of the times of Anna Ioannovna (28 meters), increased its length to 49 meters.
Along the eastern façade of the Jordan Staircase, there was a second enfilade, ending with a palace church. Behind the church, in the southeastern projection, the personal apartments of Elizaveta Petrovna were planned.
All of Rastrelli's interiors were destroyed in a fire in 1837. By a special order of Nicholas I, the Jordan Staircase and the palace church were restored in their original form. The latter suffered again already in Soviet times - in 1938 the magnificent carved iconostasis was dismantled. The interior of the church was restored in 2014.
Today, the building of the Winter Palace belongs to the State Hermitage; the museum's expositions are located here.
Initially, Peter I settled in a one-story house, built in a hurry in 1703 near the Peter and Paul Fortress. Subsequently, five winter palaces were erected on this site by different emperors in the period 1711-1764. And only in 1762 the present building of the palace appeared. At that time, the Winter Palace became the tallest residential building in St. Petersburg. Elizaveta Petrovna did not live to see the end of construction, Peter III took over the job on April 6, 1762. By this time, the facades were finished, but many of the interior spaces were not yet ready. In the summer of 1762, Peter III was dethroned, and the construction of the Winter Palace was completed under Catherine II. To have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe size of the erected palace, it is enough to give at least some data. The building has 1057 rooms, 117 stairs, 1945 windows. The total length of the main cornice flanking the building is almost 2 km. And on the parapet of the roof, there are 176 sculptured figures, alternating with vases. The palace was built at the same time by more than 4,000 masons and plasterers, marblers and modelers, packers and painters. Receiving a paltry salary for their work, they huddled in miserable hovels; many lived here, on the square, in huts.
In December 1837 a fire broke out in the Winter Palace. For 30 hours, the flames raged, destroying the entire decoration of the building. But before the walls of the palace had cooled down, restoration work began by order of the emperor. They were led by architects Stasov and Bryullov.
For the revival of the royal winter residence, a huge number of builders were mobilized, who worked in difficult, inhuman conditions. During cold weather of 25 - 30 degrees of frost, 6000 unknown workers were imprisoned in halls heated to 30 degrees Celsius for the fastest drying of the walls. Thus, these people, entering and exiting the building, experienced a difference in temperature of 50 to 60 degrees. People were suffocating from the heat and steam, fell from the forests and crashed, fell in the streets and died. But new ones took the place of those who left, and the work did not stop for one hour. The builders withstood the deadline set by the emperor: in 15 months the ball was completely restored. Its exterior has been recreated almost exactly in accordance with Rastrelli's designs, while the interior rooms have been planned and refurbished.
From the moment the construction was completed in 1762 to 1904, it was used as the official winter residence of the Russian emperors. In 1904, Nicholas II moved his permanent residence to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. From October 1915 to November 1917, a hospital named after Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich worked in the palace. From July to November 1917, the Provisional Government was located in the palace. In January 1920, the State Museum of the Revolution was opened in the palace, which shared the building with the State Hermitage until 1941 .. Now all the premises of the palace have been transferred to the Hermitage to house its numerous collections of paintings, sculptures, objects of applied art, coins, and precious items. In order to get acquainted with the exposition of all the halls, you will need to travel 22 km. And if each exhibit lingers for only one minute, then it will take 11 years to visit the museum (if you spend 8 hours in it every day).
"Winter Palace? - Where is the Hermitage? - Are the Hermitage and the Winter Palace one and the same? The Hermitage is the name of the museum located in the Winter Palace? " - such questions can often be heard from both Russian and foreign tourists. To figure out what's what, let's start a story about the most famous building of St. Petersburg from afar, from the moment the city was founded on the Neva ...
First Winter Palaces
For those who know the history of St. Petersburg, it is no secret that initially Peter I did not plan to build the city center on the Admiralty Island. The first buildings of St. Petersburg were erected on St. Petersburg Island, around the present-day Trinity Square. Then, the tsar hatched plans to build a city center in Kronstadt, on Vasilyevsky Island, but not on the left bank of the Neva. The emergence of the current historical center was facilitated by chance, or rather the royal passion. Peter I loved to work with an ax. And not only to personally cut off the heads of the dissatisfied, but also to build ships.
After the founding of the Main Admiralty in 1705-1706, the sovereign builder of St. Petersburg faced a problem that was well known to many inhabitants of our sleeping areas. It was difficult and long to get from Petersburg Island to the Admiralty, even taking into account the absence of traffic jams at that time. So the sovereign wished to have housing near the place of work. In 1708, on the site between the Neva and the current Millionnaya Street, a two-story wooden "Winter House" was built for Peter. This building was located on the site of the current Hermitage Theater, and it is considered to be the first Winter Palace.
Now Peter has the opportunity to run to the shipyard every morning. Soon around the royal
houses of the sovereign's servants and hangers-on appeared, and the "industrial outskirts" suddenly became the political and aristocratic center of St. Petersburg.
In 1712, the "Winter House" was expanded, due to the addition of the so-called "Wedding Chambers" to it, but Pyotr Alekseevich, who settled in a new place, began to think about a more representative residence. In 1716, according to the project of the architect Georg Mattarnovi, the construction of a new Winter Palace, located on the site of the previous building, began. Later, researchers noted the successful choice of a location for the main royal residence: "... the palace is located so that you can see most of the city, the fortress, the house of Prince Menshikov, and especially the open sea across the river arm"
The construction of the Peter's Winter Palace was completed in 1723. This event was celebrated with a solemn feast, but Peter I did not live long in the new building. On January 28, 1725, the emperor died in the Great Hall of the Winter Palace from the consequences of unhealed gonorrhea.
Second Winter Palace of Peter I
After Peter's death, his widow, Catherine I, lived in the Winter Palace for some time. Under Anna Ioannovna, the court settled in the neighboring Apraksin mansion, located on the site of the current Winter Palace. Petrovsky "Winter House" was used by various palace services, and then it was abandoned. Under Catherine II, the building of the Hermitage Theater was built in its place.
In 1970-1980s, Leningrad scientists discovered to their surprise that many elements of the Petrovsky Winter Palace have survived to this day. The architect Giacomo Quarnegi, who erected the theater building, used the walls and supporting structures of the old building, thanks to which today we can see the premises where Peter I spent the last two years of his life. Today they are partially restored and guided tours are held there.
Under Empress Anna Ioannovna, on the site of the houses of Apraksin, Chernyshev, Raguzinsky and the Naval Academy, the construction of a new Winter Palace, the third in a row, began. Work continued from 1732 to 1735. The new four-story building had about 70 ceremonial halls, more than 100 bedrooms, a theater, a chapel, an office, office and guard rooms.
Anna Ioannovna's Winter Palace
Later, this Winter Palace was rebuilt and completed more than once, until Empress Elizaveta Petrovna discovered that the palace began to resemble not a ceremonial residence designed to demonstrate the power of the Russian state, but a chicken coop. The exterior of the building was spoiled by countless stables, technical annexes and sheds, built mainly on the side of the Admiralty Meadow (present-day Palace Square). The question of rebuilding the palace arose again, but then it became clear that it would be easier to demolish the old building and build a new palace in its place. The corresponding decree was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna on June 16, 1754:
“Because of the greatness of our imperial dignity, our Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is not only for receiving foreign ministers and for leaving at the Court on the curtailed days of festive rites, but we cannot be satisfied with the necessary servants and things, for what we they set out to rebuild our Winter Palace with a large space in length, width and height, for which the restructuring, according to an estimate, will require up to 900,000 rubles, which amount, which is located for two years, cannot be taken from our salt money. That is why we command our Senate to find and to imagine from what incomes such an amount of 430 or 450 thousand rubles per year can be taken into this matter, counting from the beginning of this 1754 and the future 1755 years, and so that this should be done immediately, so as not to miss the present winter way to prepare supplies for that structure ... "
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, (1750-1760s)
Palace construction
The construction of the new Winter Palace was supervised by the court architect of Elizabeth Petrovna Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The architect understood that he was given a task of enormous political importance and began zealously to justify the high confidence placed in him, because the palace was being erected "for a single All-Russian glory."
According to the master's plan, the Winter Palace was supposed to be a huge quadrangle with an inner courtyard. The façade and interiors were decorated in the Baroque style, the consummate master of which was Rassterlee. Each of the palace facades was individual. The main facade was considered the Southern one, overlooking the Palace Square. He was the most magnificent. In its center were three arches leading to the front yard. The facade overlooking the Neva looked like an endless colonnade. The western facade overlooking the Razvodnaya Square also had a ceremonial appearance, where Rasterli planned to erect a monument to Peter I, the work of his father, Carlo Bartolomeo.
Inside the Winter Palace, according to the project of Rasterli, it was supposed to arrange 1,050 ceremonial and residential halls with an area of \u200b\u200b46 thousand square meters, 1945 windows, 1786 doors, 117 stairs, 329 chimneys.
The Winter Palace was conceived as the architectural dominant of the center of St. Petersburg and the tallest secular building in the city. Until the decree of Nicholas I, the construction of buildings above the Winter Palace in the center of the Northern capital was prohibited. The entire system of external decor, columns installed in two rows, statues, was designed to emphasize the huge (four-story!) Height of the building.
About four thousand people worked on the construction of the Winter Palace, including the best craftsmen from all over Russia. The territory of the present Palace Square and the Alexander Garden was covered with huts in which the workers lived. The court also had to change its place of residence. For him, Rastrelli built a temporary wooden Winter Palace, located on the site of the modern Chicherin house, at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Moika River.
Elizaveta Petrovna really wanted to move to a new residence as soon as possible, but this did not happen. The Empress died on January 25, 1761. And on April 6, 1762, the courtyard moved to the Winter Palace built by Rasterlli. Tradition says that after the completion of the work, Palace Square was a garbage dump. The cunning general-police chief of St. Petersburg, Baron N.A. Korf proposed to announce through the heralds that every citizen is free to take whatever he needs from the site of the former construction site. The next day, in front of the Winter Palace, it was possible to iron linen ... Poor Petersburgers stole even heaps of lime.
The Winter Palace becomes the Winter Palace
The fresh lime that covered the walls of the Winter Palace had not yet dried, when the building began to be rebuilt. The new Empress Catherine II, who ascended the throne after a short but memorable reign of Peter III, was not a fan of the Baroque. Rastrelli was forced to resign and leave Petersburg, and a new team of architects was invited to rebuild the Winter Palace: YM Felten, JB Vallen-Delamot and A. Rinaldi.
The interior interiors of the palace, conceived by Rastrelli, were almost completely destroyed. Today, only the magnificent Jordan Staircase has survived, along which thousands of tourists pass every day going to inspect the treasures of the State Hermitage. On the site of the old Throne Hall and the theater, a new Nevsky enfilade appeared, which included the Avanzal, the Big and the Concert Halls.
The Grand Throne or St. George Hall, created by Giacomo Quarnegi, became a true decoration of the palace. Its central object was a large throne performed by P.Azhi. Colored marble and gilded bronze were used to decorate the interior of this main ceremonial hall of the Winter Palace.
Under Catherine II, the Winter Palace became the center of the secular and cultural life of Northern Palmyra, a place for pompous court festivals and balls.
The Englishman W. Cox, who attended a ball in the Winter Palace in 1778, described what he saw in the following words: “The wealth and splendor of the Russian court surpass the most elaborate descriptions. Traces of ancient Asian splendor are mixed with European sophistication ..., the splendor of court dresses and an abundance of precious stones leave behind the splendor of other European states. " The ball was attended by about eight thousand people. True, this crowd of nobles, wealthy merchants and respected artisans did not mingle with aristocrats who danced behind a low barrier that separated the courtiers from other guests.
The work on decorating the Winter Palace continued in subsequent reigns. With the exception of Paul I, who preferred the Mikhailovsky Castle to the Winter Palace, each emperor strove to add something of his own to the decoration of the main palace of the Russian Empire.
Particularly large-scale works were carried out after 1812, when it became necessary to demonstrate to the whole world the new status of Russia - the winner of Napoleon, the leader of a united Europe in the struggle for the bright ideals of dedicated absolutism.
Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. G.G. Chernetsov
In 1826, Carl Rossi set up the Military Gallery in front of the St. George Hall, the walls of which were decorated with 330 portraits of generals who participated in the Patriotic War of 1812. Paintings for this room, painted by the English artist D. Doe. It was her A.S. Pushkin dedicated his lines:
The Russian Tsar has a chamber in his palaces:
She is not rich in gold, not velvet ...
In a crowded crowd, the artist placed
Here the chiefs of our people's forces,
Covered in the glory of a wonderful march
And the eternal memory of the twelfth year.
Auguste Montferand also took part in the reconstruction of the Winter Palace. He built the staircase of the empress's entrance, decorating it with high reliefs, statues and columns, designed the Field Marshal, Petrovsky and Armorial Halls. V.A. Zhukovsky wrote with enthusiasm to the royal residence:
“The Winter Palace as a building, as a royal dwelling, perhaps did not have a similar one in the whole of Europe. With its enormity, its architecture, it portrayed a powerful people who had so recently entered the environment of educated nations, and with its inner splendor reminded of that inexhaustible life that boils in the interior of Russia ... The Winter Palace was for us the representative of everything that was domestic, Russian, our ...
But what about the Hermitage?
A tourist who has visited the suburbs of St. Petersburg will easily find that both Pushkin and Peterhof have their own "Hermitage". This word translated from French means "Secluded corner". The nobles and kings of the 18th century loved to have secluded pavilions in their gardens and parks for intimate pastime. And Catherine II arranged her “secluded corner” right in the center of St. Petersburg.
For this purpose, in 1764-1775, a building was added to the Winter Palace, which is known today as the Small Hermitage. In it, Catherine II spent time with a select audience in an informal setting. Outsiders were not allowed into the Hermitage. Even the tables in this room were set in advance, after which the servants left the "nook" and left.
In general, the atmosphere of the Hermitage was reminiscent of modern corporate events. Formally, the guests left the ranks and conventions outside the door. Those who said nonsense had to drink a glass of cold water or read a page from Tredyakovsky's Telemachiada.
In order for evenings in the Hermitage to become a cultural pastime, Catherine II decided to decorate the premises with an appropriate collection of paintings. The beginning of the Hermitage collection was laid in 1764, when the German merchant Gotskovsky gave Russia his collection of 225 paintings as a debt. The Empress also ordered to buy up abroad all the valuable works of art that appeared at the auctions.
Works by Rubens and Van Dyck were bought in England. The Russian ambassador in Paris, Count D.A. Thanks to his connections with D. Diderot and other representatives of French culture, Golitsyn was able to acquire such world-famous masterpieces as The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt, two “Danais” by Titian and Rembrandt, “Bacchus” by Rubens, “Judith” by Giorgione, etc.
By the end of the reign of Catherine II, the Hermitage collection of paintings amounted to four thousand paintings. The Small Hermitage no longer contained all the masterpieces. A special building called the Old Hermitage had to be built for the collection.
The Hermitage received not only paintings. Catherine's agents also bought prints, drawings, antique antiquities, works of arts and crafts, ancient coins, weapons, medals and books.
The tradition of replenishing the Hermitage collection continued into the 19th century. Under Alexander I, paintings by Rembrandt and Rubens "Descent from the Cross", "Potter's Farm", paintings by Claude Lorrain, "Glass of Lemonade" by Terborch and "Breakfast" by Metsu were acquired. During this period, the Hermitage gradually transformed from the personal collection of the emperor's paintings into a museum. True, it was by no means a public gallery. To visit the Hermitage, you need to take a special pass signed by the head of the court office. Even A.S. Pushkin received such a document only thanks to the patronage of V.A. Zhukovsky.
Interiors of the New Hermitage in watercolors by K. Ukhtomsky, 1856
An important turning point in the “democratization” of access to the Hermitage was the construction of the New Hermitage building, which was completed in 1856. It was the first purpose-built museum building in Russia. Already in 1852 the exposition of the New Hermitage received its first visitors, and in 1866 access to the museum became open and ... free. The cost of tickets was compensated by the Ministry of the Imperial Court. Of course, only the "European" dressed public was allowed inside, which in itself blocked access to representatives of the poor strata of society.
After the revolution, the Hermitage Museum received valuable acquisitions, but at the same time suffered serious losses. Valuables expropriated from private collections of Russian aristocrats and industrialists were brought to the main museum of the country. At the same time, in the late 1920s, some of the Hermitage's paintings were sold abroad to finance industrialization. A collection of paintings by Russian painting was transferred to the Russian Museum.
In the 1920s, the concepts of the Hermitage and the Winter Palace gradually became a single whole, since the museum received almost all the premises of the former tsar's residence to house its exhibitions.
After the Great Patriotic War, the collections and storage facilities of the Hermitage were replenished with trophy works of art, exported from Germany as compensation for the masterpieces destroyed by the Nazi troops in Russia.
The legend of the gunsmith Tarasyuk
There are many interesting tales about the Winter Palace. The most commonplace of them are the stories about the ghosts of Peter I, Nicholas I and Nicholas II who regularly stroll through the night halls of the Hermitage. There are legends about the underground passages of the Hermitage, which lead now to the Manege, now to the Marble Palace.
Of all these legends, only one story is distinguished by the originality of the content and the dramatic plot. Allegedly in the early 80s, the First Secretary of the Leningrad City Committee of the CPSU Grigory Romanov, a fierce enemy of the freedom-loving intelligentsia, decided to celebrate his daughter's wedding in the Tauride Palace. For this, the satrap, demanded from the management of the Hermitage to give him the ceremonial service of Catherine II for one hundred and forty-four persons. The director of the Hermitage, Boris Borisovich Piotrovsky, said that the service could only be taken over his corpse, but when the KGB leadership announced that this could in principle be organized, Boris Borisovich went home and said sick.
Employees of the city committee went to the Hermitage for the service, and only one person stood in their way. It was a museum employee, Tarasyuk. Dressed in medieval armor, he took up a sword and menacingly moved towards the intruders. The cowardly agents of tyranny fled in panic, but then one event, extremely sad for all honest museologists, took place. Just at this time, at night, angry dogs were released into the halls of the Hermitage. Tarasyuk was an expert in weapons, but the armor he wore was designed for riding. When the scientist was already triumphant, the evil dogs stuck into his most vulnerable spot, unprotected by armor ... Tarasyuk lost his courage, and the jubilant city committee members took the service.
The further fate of the masterpiece was sad. When they shouted "Bitter!" At the wedding, the partocrats began to beat the precious dishes on the floor ... However, Romanov did not get away with it. Because of this story, he was not made the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, instead of Mikhail Gorbachev.
Tarasyuk was fired from the Hermitage and went to Israel, where his traces were lost.
Fire in the Winter Palace K.Zh. Vernet
From fire to war
The catastrophic fire of 1837 became a symbolic milestone in the history of the Winter Palace. Later, the cause of the fire was named "an air vent left unsealed during the last alteration of the large Field Marshal's Hall"; the vent “was in the chimney between the choir and the wooden vault of Peter the Great's hall, located side-by-side with the Field Marshal's, and was very close to the boards of the rear partition. On the day of the unfortunate incident, it was thrown out of the pipe, after which the flame communicated through this vent to the boards of the choirs and the vault of the hall of Peter the Great; in this place he was provided with abundant food wooden partitions; on them, the fire went to the rafters. These huge rafters and props, dried for 80 years by hot air under the hot summer heat of an iron roof, ignited instantly. "
The smell of smoke was noticed on the morning of December 17, but since no one could find the source of the fire for a long time, the necessary measures were postponed until the evening. By that time, the interior ceilings of the Winter Palace were already burning with might and main, and when the firefighters broke into the walls, the flame burst out ...
The Winter Palace burned for three days. During this time, all of its interiors burned out. It was one of the largest fires in the history of St. Petersburg. The glow from the fire could be seen several kilometers from the city. Only the heroic efforts of soldiers and servants managed to save almost the entire palace furnishings and paintings. They were taken out into the street and piled up at the Alexander Column.
Immediately after the disaster, renovation work began in the Winter Palace, which was headed by architects V.P. Stasov and A.P. Bryullov. Emperor Nicholas I ordered them to "restore in their original form" all the interiors of the palace. Immediately, we note that the architects perfectly coped with the responsible government task. The appearance of the former Winter Palace was revived in just two years.
In some rooms, with the consent of the sovereign, changes were still made. So the Stasov Armorial Hall increased to a thousand square meters and seriously changed its decoration.
After this renovation, the ceremonial interiors of the Winter Palace have survived to this day without significant changes. The same cannot be said about the living quarters of the palace. Only the Alexandrovsky and White halls, the staircase of the entrance of "Her Imperial Majesty", the Rotunda, the Arapsky and Malachite halls have survived to us in the form that A.P. Bryullov. Other living rooms of the palace were rebuilt several times in accordance with the tastes of their owners. Of course, here one cannot speak of any artistic unity, although the interiors of some private chambers are very interesting in themselves. Among them, it is worth noting the "Red Boudoir" by Empress Maria Alexandrovna, "The Golden Living Room" created by V.A. Schreiber and the personal library of Nicholas II (by A.F. Krasovsky).
Until the revolution, the Winter Palace continued to function as a platform for the most important political events of Tsarist Russia. It hosted receptions of foreign ambassadors, solemn balls, receptions of loyal delegations, the opening ceremony of the State Duma. In a difficult or solemn moment, crowds of loyal subjects rushed to this building. On January 9, 1905, columns of Petersburg workers moved to the Winter Palace, to the Tsar, asking for mercy and intercession. Unfortunately, the dialogue between the authorities and the people did not work that day ... But on August 1, 1914, a column of patriotic intelligentsia nevertheless reached Palace Square and collapsed in front of the beloved monarch who appeared on the balcony of the Winter Palace.
In the 19th century, once a year the doors of the Winter Palace were thrown open for residents of the capital. On January 1, a New Year's masquerade was held there. Moreover, not only nobles could come to the royal houses, but also “merchants, bourgeois, shopkeepers, artisans of all kinds, even simple bearded peasants and serfs, decently dressed. All this was crowded and pushed together with the first officials of the court, representatives of diplomacy and high society. Dressed up ladies, in diamonds and pearls, military and civilian star-bearers and tails, frock coats and caftans interspersed with them. The sovereign and the royal family, with his numerous retinue, walking from one room to another, sometimes could hardly pass through the crowd. " For many it was a wonderful opportunity to refresh themselves: “In the halls there were many buffets with gold and silver dishes, with soft drinks of all kinds, excellent wines, beer, honey, kvass, with an abundance of foods of all kinds, from the most refined to the common ... The crowd around the buffets followed by a crowd as they emptied and replenished. On such annual holidays, from 25 to 30 thousand people sometimes came to the Winter Palace. Foreigners could not marvel at the order and decency of the crowd, and the sovereign's credulity towards his subjects, who with love, devotion and a sense of complacency crowded around him for 5 or 6 hours. Not the slightest etiquette was observed here, at the same time no one abused the proximity to the royal person. "
But as a royal residence, the Winter Palace was used less and less. It turned out that in the new historical realities, the huge building does not meet the safety requirements well. And not only fire prevention. On February 5, 1880, Stepan Khalturin, a member of the Narodnaya Volya, carried 30 kilograms of dynamite to the Winter Palace and set off an explosion under the dining room where Emperor Alexander II was supposed to dine. The Emperor miraculously did not suffer. 11 soldiers of the Life Guards of the Finland Regiment were killed.
After Narodnaya Volya nevertheless killed Alexander II in 1881, the new tsar, Alexander III, preferred to live in safe Gatchina, and to visit the Winter Palace on a rotational basis. Only when Nicholas II ascended the throne, the august family, returned to the banks of the Neva. However, after the start of the 1905 revolution, the Winter Palace looked more like a fortified camp. In addition to the tsar, some key figures of the regime lived in it, for example, Prime Minister Stolypin. Only there they could feel safe. Nicholas II himself, following the example of his father, spent more and more time in the Alexander Palace of Pushkin.
With the outbreak of World War I, life in the Winter Palace underwent new changes. The imperial family appeared in the old walls less and less. In 1915, a number of palace rooms were set aside for a hospital.
Winter Palace in the XX century
After the February Revolution of 1917, the Extraordinary Commission of the Provisional Government to investigate the crimes of tsarism worked for some time in the premises of the Winter Palace, and from the summer of 1917, the Provisional Government itself "moved" into the former tsarist chambers. Newspapers wrote snide articles about A.F. Kerensky blissful in the bed of Nicholas II. All palace values \u200b\u200band collections of the Hermitage were sent to Moscow and hidden in the building of the Historical Museum.
On the night of October 25-26, 1917, the Winter Palace became the arena of historical events. The forces of the Military Revolutionary Committee, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, after a series of short skirmishes, seized the former tsarist residence and arrested the ministers of the Provisional Government. The tabloid press was filled with chilling articles about the destruction of the palace interiors by wild workers and peasants and the sad fate of the shock women's battalion, whose fighters faced a fate worse than death. True, it should be noted that the scientific literature does not confirm this information.
Three days after the arrest of the Provisional Government, the new Soviet authorities took the Winter Palace under protection as a cultural monument. However, at first it was used for a variety of purposes. The huge building housed the Museum of the Revolution, and a reception center for prisoners of war of the old army, and the headquarters for organizing mass celebrations, and even a cinema. Only in 1922 did all the premises of the Winter Palace gradually begin to be transferred to the Hermitage.
At the same time, work began on the redevelopment of the former living and service rooms of the Hermitage. On the first floor, the Rastrelli Gallery was restored, instead of 65 rooms of the maid of honor, 17 original halls were recreated.
Gardens on the territory of the Winter Palace during the siege
During the Great Patriotic War, the Winter Palace was seriously damaged. The Jordan Staircase, the Small Throne (Petrovsky) Hall, and the Armorial Hall were damaged by German bombs and shells. The restoration of these objects took a long time after the war. The most valuable exhibits were evacuated to Sverdlovsk. In the courtyard of the Winter Palace, a vegetable garden was set up where vegetables were grown.
In the following decades, the Winter Palace-Hermitage became one of the largest museums on the planet. It contains up to three million unique works of art. Millions of tourists and Petersburgers visit the Winter Palace every year.
6The Winter Palace on Palace Square in St. Petersburg is the main attraction of the northern capital, which from 1762 to 1904 served as the official winter residence of the Russian emperors. In terms of the richness and variety of architectural and sculptural decoration, the palace has no equal in St. Petersburg.
To get around all the exhibits of the Hermitage, you will need to spend 11 years of life and walk 22 kilometers. All Petersburgers know well: in the main museum of the city there is an Egyptian hall on the first floor, on the third floor there are impressionists. Guests of the city are also aware.
How will we surprise you? You can try with facts:
№1. The Hermitage is huge ... Just like the territory of a huge country ruled by a tsar, the autocrat of all Russia, right from the walls of this magnificent palace. 1057 rooms, 117 stairs, 1945 windows. The total length of the main cornice flanking the building is almost 2 km.
№2. The total number of sculptures installed on the parapet of the Winter Palace is 176 pieces. You can count the number of vases yourself.
№3. The main palace of the Russian Empire was built by more than 4,000 masons and plasterers, marblers and modelers, parquet flooring and painters. Receiving a paltry salary for their work, they huddled in miserable shacks, many lived here, on the square, in huts.
№4. From 1754 to 1762, the building of the palace was under construction, which at that time became the tallest residential building in St. Petersburg. For a long time ... Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died without settling in new mansions. Peter III took over 60,000 square meters of new housing.
№5. After the completion of the construction of the Winter Palace, the entire square in front of it was littered with construction waste. Emperor Peter III decided to get rid of him in an original way - he ordered to announce to the people that anyone who wants can take anything from the square, and for free. After a few hours, all the trash was cleared away.
№6. Garbage removed - a new problem. In 1837 the palace burned down. The whole imperial family was left homeless. However, 6,000 unknown workers saved the day by working day and night, and in 15 months the ball was completely restored. True, the price of a labor feat is several hundred ordinary workers ...
№7. The Winter Palace was constantly repainted in different colors. Was both red and pink. It acquired its original, pale green color in 1946.
№8. The Winter Palace is an absolutely monumental structure. It was intended to reflect the power and greatness of the Russian Empire. It is estimated that there are 1,786 doors, 1945 windows and 117 staircases. The main facade is 150 meters long and 30 meters high.
in St. Petersburg (2 Dvortsovaya Ploschad / 38 Dvortsovaya Embankment) - a former imperial palace, now part of the Main Museum Complex of the State Hermitage. The current building of the palace (the fifth) was built in 1754-1762 by the Italian architect B. F. Rastrelli in the style of magnificent Elizabethan baroque with elements of French rococo in the interiors. It is a cultural heritage site of federal significance and a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the historical center of St. Petersburg.
Winter history
From the moment the construction was completed in 1762 to 1904, it was used as the official winter residence of the Russian emperors. In 1904, Nicholas II moved his permanent residence to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. From October 1915 to November 1917, a hospital named after Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich worked in the palace. From July to November 1917, the Provisional Government was located in the palace. In January 1920, the State Museum of the Revolution was opened in the palace, which shared the building with the State Hermitage until 1941.
and Palace Square form the most beautiful architectural ensemble of a modern city and are one of the main objects of domestic and international tourism.
Fifth (existing)
South facade on Palace Square
From 1754 to 1762, the construction of the existing and currently building of the palace, which at that time became the tallest residential building in St. Petersburg, was underway. The building consisted of about 1500 rooms. The total area of \u200b\u200bthe palace is about 60,000 square meters. Elizaveta Petrovna did not live to see the end of construction, Peter III took over the job on April 6, 1762. By this time, the facades were finished, but many of the interior spaces were not yet ready. In the summer of 1762, Peter III was dethroned, and the construction of the Winter Palace was completed under Catherine II.
First of all, the empress removed Rastrelli from the work. The interior decoration of the palace was carried out by architects Y. M. Felten, J. B. Vallin-Delamot and A. Rinaldi under the leadership of Betsky.
According to the original, made by Rastrelli, the layout of the palace, the largest ceremonial halls were located on the 2nd floor and overlooked the Neva. According to the architect's plan, the path to the huge "Throne" hall (which occupied the entire space of the north-western wing) began from the east - from the "Jordan" or, as it was previously called, the "Ambassador" staircase and ran through a suite of five avant-halls ( of these, three middle halls later made up the present Nikolaev Hall). In the south-western wing Rastrelli placed the palace theater "Opera House". Kitchens and other services occupied the northeastern wing, and in the southeastern part, between the living quarters and the "Big Church" arranged in the eastern courtyard, a gallery was spread.
History of the Winter Palace
In 1763, the empress moved her chambers to the southwestern part of the palace, under her rooms she ordered to place the chambers of her favorite G.G. Orlov (in 1764-1766, the Southern Pavilion of the Small Hermitage will be erected for Orlov, connected to Catherine's chambers by a gallery on the arch ). In the north-western risalit, the "Throne Hall" was arranged, in front of it there was a waiting room - the "White Hall". A dining room was placed behind the White Hall. Adjacent to it was the "Light Cabinet". The dining room was followed by the "State Bedchamber", which became the "Diamond Rest" a year later. In addition, the Empress ordered to equip a library, study, boudoir, two bedrooms and a dressing room for herself. In the restroom, the empress built a toilet seat from the throne of one of her lovers, the Polish king Poniatowski. In 1764, in Berlin, through agents, Catherine acquired a collection of 225 works by Dutch and Flemish artists from the merchant I. Gotskovsky. The paintings were housed in a secluded apartment of the palace, which received the French name "Hermitage" (place of solitude); from 1767 to 1775 a special building was built for them to the east of the palace.
In the 1780s and 1790s, works on finishing the palace interiors were continued by I. Ye. Starov and G. Quarenghi.
In 1783, by order of Catherine, the palace theater was demolished.
In the 1790s, by the decree of Catherine II, who considered it inappropriate for the public to enter the Hermitage through her own chambers, a gallery-bridge with the Winter Palace - Apollo's Hall - was created, with the help of which visitors could bypass the royal apartments. At the same time, Quarenghi also erected a new "Throne (Georgievsky)" Hall, opened in 1795. The old throne room was converted into a number of rooms, which were given to the newly married Grand Duke Alexander for the chambers. The "Marble Gallery" (of three halls) was also created.
In 1826, according to the project of K.I.Rossi, the Military Gallery was built in front of the St. George Hall, which housed 330 portraits of generals - participants in the war of 1812, painted over almost 10 years by D. Doe. In the early 1830s, in the eastern building of the palace, O. Montferrand designed the "Field Marshal", "Petrovsky" and "Armorial" halls.
After the fire of 1837, when all the interiors were destroyed, the architects V.P. Stasov, A.P. Bryullov and A.E.Shtaubert supervised the restoration work in the Winter Palace.
